I do see some flashes of the old early 90s Knicks in Lee, Balkman, Nate and Collins, literally.

Lee's got those rebounding skills and has a mean streak in him. Not much of a skill player. Oakleyish.

Balkman is really a small power foward but brings the ball up the court like a pg and has some nice passing skills and plays solid defense and hustles. Little offensive skills. Anthony Mason.

Nate Robinson, really a player of his own kind but he has a lot of heart and can hit some big baskets. Not the smartest of players but still a bright spot on the team. He's a scorer who can pass just a little. Starksish maybe?

Mardy. Not really skilled, not really great at one thing, but plays tough D and seems but he's his own leader and comes through for the team when they need him. Never should be a starter. Charlie Ward.

I know it's silly, but during times when black clouds are surrounding this team and the fans, I figured it would be good to look at some of the few bright spots. I like these guys.

What no Curry?

Posted by Allanfan20:

I know it's silly, but during times when black clouds are surrounding this team and the fans, I figured it would be good to look at some of the few bright spots. I like these guys.

Good call. I like those guys too. They showed a lot of heart last night.

The problem is that day by day our young guys are watching our older guys and how they go about their business.

Posted by eViL:

Posted by Bippity10:

The problem is that day by day our young guys are watching our older guys and how they go about their business.

That might actually turn out to be a good thing. It depends on how our young guys perceive their veteran counterparts. They might be looking at these dudes and thinking, "Man, I better work hard or else I'll turn out like him."

It's possible. But in my experience it never happens. You normally have to rid the team of the jokers or at leas marginalize them before change can be made. Cultural change is more important than anything else here. As long as we coddle those that use every little thing as an excuse for their inability to play hard than we are in danger of seeing our young guys make the same mistakes.

The scariest example for me was last year when Nate(who plays harder than anyone) refused to shoot in a game last year. If he had never met Marbs would he have done that? If Tim Duncan was here would our young guys ever dare to speak out to LB. If Magic Johnson was our leader would our team have imploded last year? If Allan Houston and Charlie Ward and KT were here would you have heard guys complaining about roles and the coach? YOur guess is as good as mine. But I think you see where I'm going with this.

I think the only time they spoke out to LB was after he left. I don't really see the problem with that, since what they were saying was pretty much true. I also can't imagine what Tim DUncan would have done or why he would have wanted to stop that. I think LB was trying to weed the roster and wasn't always fair to our players. I've never seen any coach do as much as LB did to lose his players. The culture has got to change for sure, but I think the kids are still alright.

Posted by Bippity10:

Posted by eViL:

Posted by Bippity10:

The problem is that day by day our young guys are watching our older guys and how they go about their business.

That might actually turn out to be a good thing. It depends on how our young guys perceive their veteran counterparts. They might be looking at these dudes and thinking, "Man, I better work hard or else I'll turn out like him."

It's possible. But in my experience it never happens. You normally have to rid the team of the jokers or at leas marginalize them before change can be made. Cultural change is more important than anything else here. As long as we coddle those that use every little thing as an excuse for their inability to play hard than we are in danger of seeing our young guys make the same mistakes.

The scariest example for me was last year when Nate(who plays harder than anyone) refused to shoot in a game last year. If he had never met Marbs would he have done that? If Tim Duncan was here would our young guys ever dare to speak out to LB. If Magic Johnson was our leader would our team have imploded last year? If Allan Houston and Charlie Ward and KT were here would you have heard guys complaining about roles and the coach? YOur guess is as good as mine. But I think you see where I'm going with this.

Balkman reminds me alot more of Spree the way he moves on the court & handles the ball on the break (obviously w/o the offensive game)... Spree had a nasty edge about him tho... Balk is pretty emotionless out on the floor... dude looks like he's high on the chronic half the time i see him w/that grin on his face.

Posted by TMS:

Balkman reminds me alot more of Spree the way he moves on the court & handles the ball on the break (obviously w/o the offensive game)... Spree had a nasty edge about him tho... Balk is pretty emotionless out on the floor... dude looks like he's high on the chronic half the time i see him w/that grin on his face.

Spree was a second round pick that was only known for D. If only Balk could follow in his footsteps (minus the bad attitude).

Posted by TMS:

actually he was taken w/the 24th pick in the 1st round... very similar to Balkman... but i don't see Renaldo growing into the player Spree was in his prime... he was 1 of the elite SG's in the NBA at the time.

True. Didn't know Spree was a 1st rounder. Still a steal even at 24. I don't expect the Balkster to achieve elite status, but if he does -- his path to stardom would be very similar to Spree's.

So many positives....

Balkman with 18?

Be still my heart